#oudf602

[jeff-the-third]

Fettle talks: Practice

Fettle Official website 

Talk 2 of 2.

Zane Whittingham, a creative director of Yorkshire Based animation company "Fettle" came in to give us a seminar on the harsh realities of professional animation, and how he managed to break into the industries, making a point that it was a long, drawn out process. 

However, he did end up in a position that gave him full creative control, and went on to direct several well known pieces, including the Bafta winning Animated documentaries, 'Fragile stories'. depicting the horrors that children faced in the Second world War.

He gave some stellar advice during the seminar: 

Figure out how much you're worth, and how much you need to live so you can do your job at your greatest efficiency. Depending at the client, they will be different about money. If you are in the situation where a client is throwing money at you to meet a deadline, sometimes you can force yourself to meet it, but there are other times where it literally isn't worth your health. Know how to identify these boundaries. 

If you are working from a model sheet during a project, dedicate an appropriate amount of time to learn how to draw the characters, because practice early on means that there are less mistakes later. 

As an extension of this, make sure you are also familiar with their movements and solve any problems you might face with the flow of the performance as well as you can before you turn up for the commencement of a project .

The director's word is law. Don't try to adjust the storyboards once they are locked. If they have a certain aesthetic for a project, it's best just to replicate it as well as you can.

Don't give up on life drawing. Even this kind of knowledge can become fuzzy and leave you without constant practice. A loss of this fundamental knowledge can become evident in your animation if it's not kept sharp.

There's a 50/50 chance that the project you've signed up to will be one that you won't like. This is a harsh fact of the animation/ creative world, but it sometimes really is just worth buckling down and bringing home the bacon so you can move on to something better and work on personal projects without fear of poverty.

Communication within a project is key, with your director, and your fellow animators and creative team, even if it's just to manage time, progress, or making sure that everyone is literally working from the right page.

And finally...Back up your work. Falling trees on generators can short out your building and wipe your files. It happens.

[jeff-the-third]

Rabbit Portal

Rabbit Portal Official Site

Self Proclaimed 'stuff maker' Matt Saunders is a freelance artist based in Duke Studios, Leeds. He came into talk to us about his practice, and was a very down to earth fellow who was earnest in his presentation, but gave frank and honest answers to the questions posed to him. 

His portfolio is eclectic, showing a diverse range of skills and mediums, from illustration and sculpture sculpture to painting and animation, educational to personal, showing that he engages in all sorts of project but doesn't compromise his personal flair in the process.  he has worked for several high profile clients, including Lucas Film, Universal Records, TED Talks, Channel four,Marks & Spencers, Cath Kidston, Leeds Film Festival, BAF, and Juxtapoz.

Making Stuff

What I gleaned from Saunders' approach was that if he didn't exactly know how to go about a given project or animated piece., he would just simply try different things and give it a go until something stuck and worked for him. This much is evident in his animation work in particular, as he wasn't precisely sure how the music video would turn out (or at all) in collaboration with director Lesley Barnes due to technical difficulties and a difficult deadline. However, it's clear that the sheer volume of time and effort paid off. It's always better to take a crack at something toy're uncertain about than to not attempt it at all.

Fan art is OK

As long as it's stylish. A good example from Saunders is a piece to celebrate the release of Paranorman in the UK. 

Another thing that I thought set Saunders apart was the willingness to do 'real life' projects, such as the murals in Manchester's Neighbourhood to bring the walls to life. The pieces were huge, but it sounded as if it was a very enjoyable experience, even though it was a large project.

I think the thing I learned from this talk is that if you are known for a particular style or kind of art, that's all very well and good. But it doesn't mean that you're strictly limited to that particular structure or medium. For example, an illustrator is just as free to take up sculpting, as a sculptor is to try their hand at Vector design work. If you feel like you want to attempt to learn a new technique or medium to express and develop your practice, there's no rule that says that you can't. To this effect, I stepped out of my comfort zone as a pre production artist and tried to undertake a complete animation project. This has been a difficult endevour for many reasons, but it's a discipline I am passionate about growing proficiency in. 

Overall, it was an enlightening and optimistic seminar.

[jeff-the-third]

Business Cards

In the past, I've created business cards from concept art from other projects, But this time. I decided to create something from scratch to reflect my tag line, which implies that if you're stuck in production Limbo, I'll try and guide you to the other side. I also like the image of a little girl going over the cross bar, and may use it as a consistent image in further branding.

After having a second pair of eyes look at it, it became apparent that the colour values were off, so I readjusted the colours and contrast to be more print friendly. 

I decided to keep the cover image more minimal besides the tagline and my name, and then the opposite side would sport the appropriate contact details (in my signature colour) , to retain the integrity of the art work.

[jeff-the-third]

BAF Game 2013

Bradford Animation Festival Official Site.

I was lucky enough to attend BAF 2014's 20th festival. I have enjoyed the festival every year since first attending LCA, and this year's line up didn't disappoint. There's far too much to relay all the details here, but I'll highlight some of my favourite pieces and seminars.

There were many interesting panels, one of which was with Dave McKean, the illustrator  responsible for the Sandman Cover art, among countless other collaborations with Neil Gaiman, one of my favourites being 'The Graveyard Book'. During the panel he offered insight into his work ethic and diversity of work, ranging from illustration to Film Work and 3D texturing in the cult hit 'Mirror Mask'.

One of the most prevalent trends I noticed was the re-emergence of stop motion, From the Steampunk inspired and award winning 'Butterflies', to the charming musical, cut out paper animation 'Miss Todd'. , Winner of the student academy awards!

I was pleased to see this, as it is often debated that stop motion and traditional animation are dying art forms, but after the eclectic and imaginative selection this year, I beg to differ.

There was also a Masterclass with Local animator, Lee Hardcastle, whose hyper violent claymation videos have earned him viral fame and actual revenue. During the seminar, we were treated to a selection of his most famous shorts including the award winning "T is for Toilet", and a private screening of his first episodic film, "Ghost Burger."

He took a Q and A, and gave me excellent advice about emulating fake blood. He even congratulate me on the use of the word 'Viscosity' in a sentence.  

I was also lucky enough to see the Academy award winning 'Mr Hublot' before it was nominated.

Overall, the feel of this year's festival focused on techniques that in recent years people may have thought to be unpopular or outdated and while many films verged on unnerving, I think the encompassing feeling was one of charm, and undoubtedly one of the most creative and diverse selections I've seen so far.

[jeff-the-third]

Leeds College of Art Tabletop and Gaming Society

(( ^^^Our President. Tim Holland. Student. Part time Wizard. ^^^))

Position: Secretary

Because our course is based partially about the field of gaming, Tim Holland and  I thought it would be an excellent idea to start a Tabletop gaming society. With the help of Annabeth Robinson and Paisley Boyd, the set up and approval was easy, and we hold sessions after College every week. Visitors and members are free to bring their own games and to participate in RPG campaigns, board and card games.

It's important to cultivate an appreciation for gaming fundamentals from a time before consoles and fun became dependent on technology. I like to think that this Society encourages players to be flexible and strategic in their thinking, as well as creative and considerate in terms of campaigns like Dungeons and Dragons. The core element of those ventures is being able to walk a mile in your character's shoes, and you are expected to develop their history, lore and mannerisms, in order to literally play their Role.

So far Sessions have been very energetic and successful, and when Tim and I leave next year, our vice President Sophie Wright will hopefully take up the mantle and see it continues. 

[jeff-the-third]

Online Presence links

A culmination of my social media and art presence links so far.

Art Tumblr: XXX

Youtube: XXX Red Bubble: XXX Behance: XXX Linked In: XXX

[jeff-the-third]

Trip to America

In the late summer to early autumn, I am going to visit some friends in America for a long vacation, as I have been told that the Fall is the prettiest time to visit the Maine/ New England region. However, before departing, I intend to get into contact with a few local production companies, with a few reasonably close together in the Boston Massachusetts area. The purpose of this visit mainly is to relax, but I also wish to investigate opportunities for internships abroad, and even just to see how a real animation production house pipe line looks in action. A few of the selected houses I wish to visit are  Fable Vision Clam Bake Studios

Soup2Nuts

and finally, Hero For Hire, to name a few.

From my research, I can tell that each of these companies carries a different ethos and possess an inherent aesthetic, despite each undertaking a variety of projects. I think that this is important, as it distinguishes a company from the crowd, attracts different kinds of talent and holds an appeal to a niche at any given time. 

I am also interested in working abroad, as animation is quickly becoming one of the USA's most lucrative exports, and as such more jobs for its production may open up as a result. 

[jeff-the-third]

Book Cover Competition: "The Uncertain Adventurers and the rubies of Wisdom"

'The Uncertain Adventurers' Official Site 

After spotting a notice in the 'Creative opportunities after college' newsletter, this competition caught my eye.

The brief is to design the cover for a soon to be released children's book "The Uncertain Adventurers and the rubies of Wisdom" by C M Small. A little information is given on the website about the background setting of the story, a mystical island named 'Gojoli' and the various characters involved, but not much is supplied in the way of imagery or plot points. This is a good thing, as it allows the readers to truly make their own deductions and interpretations about the  story and doesn't provide spoilers.

It also means that entrants have free range over what type of cover they submit. The final submission date is the 30th May, and there are two categories, one for over 18s, and one for under. I resume there is going to be two editions of the book. 

The winning submission not only gains valuable exposure, but also a tidy £250.

I intend to enter a digitally drawn character based but minimal piece and have scheduled to submit it on 27th May to allow plenty of time for processing.